North Adams Windsor Lake Panel Looking at Marketing, Packages
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Windsor Lake Recreation Commission is hoping to come up with new marketing and camping packages that would attract visitors to what they feel is a hidden gem.
"We should be looking at the entire Windsor Lake complex," said Commissioner Nancy Bullett.
The idea is to integrate better the activities available at Windsor Lake and the city run Historic Valley Campground. Bullett pointed to the new playground at the lake, the recently installed volleyball court and disc golf course, and the trail system. "When we look at it as a whole, which is what we should be doing ... that's all part of the amenities piece that we're working on."
She also said the city's website was "horrendous" and not user-friendly when it came to directing people to the static campground site. There also is a Windsor Lake Facebook page but it was not clear who had access to post on it.
Campground Manager Cindy Rosenburg said it would be nice to be able to get on the website and "change things and put things that are going to be happening down there, pictures, or events."
Commissioner David Racette said he's been on other campground websites and they promote things like themed weekends, and the city could do the same as well as for festivals like FreshGrass and Solid Sound.
"We do the same things so we should promote that," said Rosenburg.
It's easy to get a website but hard to maintain, said Chairman Arlen Cellana.
"Just as bad as no website is a website that's completely outdated," he said. "We need somebody who's at least tech savvy to update."
Bullett motioned, and the commissioners approved, a recommendation to the city administration for an updated website.
Rosenburg again pushed for a three-month package for families with children that would start in June and end before Labor Day. She also suggested "shoulder" packages from Memorial Day to June and from after the FreshGrass music festival in September to the season end on Columbus Day.
"The park is pretty much empty except for seasonals so I thought we could promote a little six- or four-week program, give them a good rate rather than not having anything at all," she said.
The idea was a foliage package or early spring package, with possibly a lowered rate on weekdays as a storage fee for campers who wanted to come up on the weekends and not have to set up each time.
She'd proposed the three-month family plan earlier in the year but the commissioners rejected it at that time because so many reservations for seasonals had already been placed.
"There are quite a few people who have shown interest in it, who would like to do it," she said. Rosenburg estimated the cost at about $1,500. With full seasons at $1,980, or about $13 a day, the so-called family plan would cost less but be charged more per day.
But Bullett was unconvinced that such a package wouldn't cut into the number of seasonal campers and out-of-town visitors.
"If you have a certain number of seasonal sites, and you offer this, then you're apt to lose some of the seasonals to the three months," she said.
Rosenburg didn't think so. "The majority of people that do seasonal are elderly, they don't have kids, they like to stay the whole year," she said. the fall and the spring are the best times for seasonals like us. ... I don't think you're going to see a drop."
She also thought it would help fill sites that aren't booked much during the summer.
Bullett said she wanted more information, such as capping the number available. "I want to see numbers, make sure we're not going to shortchange ourselves or have the campground full for three months, limiting visitors that want to come here."
"Being there all the time, I see many sites empty except for the big ones," said Racette. He and Rosenburg said the main reason campers are turned away is because their rigs are too big for available campsites.
Commissioners also began discussions on rates, which have been raised over the years to bring them closer to other campgrounds. Rosenburg cautioned that North Adams didn't have many of the amenities of those places, such as strong wifi, pools and activity packages. In fact, she suggested lowering the monthly rate a couple hundred to around $500 or so.
In other business:
• Commissioners were nonplussed to learn partway through Tuesday's meeting that Rosenburg was retiring and would not be returning next season. She was hired in 2014 for the summer position.
• The commission also heard that the removal of phragmites from the lake is continuing. It held off further discussion until Administrative Officer Michael Canales could provide an update.
• There was a lengthy discussion on wayfaring signs and marking for the trail system that included resident Richard Zona. There was concern that some trails maybe crossing private property and indications of firepits and a hunting on the public lands.
"The intent of the commission is to make it a user-friendly area but not to encroach on our neighbors," said Bullett, and for neighbors to do the same.
Cellana said he would try using the global positioning system to mark trails and overlay them with maps from the assessors office to determine the city's boundaries.
• The commission is also researching Windsor Lake's status as a wildlife sanctuary after Zona raised the issue because of the recent decision to allow leashed dogs on the trails. Cellana thought the designation could have fallen by the wayside when the complex was transferred from the oversight of the Parks & Recreation Commission.
Tags: campground, Windsor Lake,
